About Us
Phyllis Jean Beaty
Founder and Design Director at Magnolia Studio
Since I learned to read at a very young age, my earliest memories are of curling up with books and disappearing into their worlds. Throughout my school years I delighted in reading newspapers and studying about the issues of the 60s and 70s. Never have I thought that racism, violence, war, or anything other than world peace was an acceptable way to live. I have always been an animal lover, nature lover, poet, author, and live music fanatic.
My first book design was a fifth grade geography report on Ireland, complete with cut-out magazine images, captions, index and a nifty little binding. I began doing traditional cut and paste design work professionally in the early 80s. After moving to Boston, Massachusetts in 1985 I started my freelance career working with educational and entertainment publishers. I realized that what I really loved was books and so I turned my attention to perfecting my skills in graphic design and production.
I migrated to San Francisco, California in 1995 at the urging of my mentor and good friend, Andrew Walker, to begin working with software manual publisher, IDG Books Worldwide, in Foster City, California. Many incredible books were produced with that group about the newest and brightest software products, as well as that new-fangled communication thingy called the "world wide web"! My IDG work experience honed my skills with management, project coordination and scheduling; as well as design, templates, production, proofreading and quality control. The commute from San Francisco down the peninsula each morning was a wonderful change from Boston.
Inevitably I fell in love with the East Bay and moved my wonderful cocker spaniel Maggie, and Chuck the tuxedo cat, to the Oakland Hills. While living there under the magnolia trees I felt like it was finally time to branch out and start my own book design company, Magnolia Studio. My new company was situated at the top of the hills and looked down on that beautiful "city by the bay" that I love so well.
Soon I began working with new publishers and new subject matters. This opened the floodgates for all sorts of products and Magnolia Studio's fresh outlook on the future. What a wonderful concept: produce books about the things I love and I'll always be excited to go to work! Especially since now the work commute was only fifteen feet from bedroom to home office, instead of fifteen miles across the bay. Our office space soon moved to North Berkeley, California, and later to Emeryville, California as I developed my client list and required more and more space.
In November 2001 my partner and I moved north to the town of Sebastopol in Sonoma County, California. Apple orchards, grape vineyards, redwoods, ocean, an incredible river and wonderful community surround us here. After several years we moved a little farther north to Guerneville, California on the mighty Russian River to find our home and joy! Our pets have lots of room to roam safely, our garden is growing with much abundance and the orchard is full of fruit becoming ripe from July through November: blackberries, grapes, figs, apples, pears, pomegranates and persimmons. We strive to be good stewards of this land entrusted to us and enjoy its gifts daily!
In 2009 I returned to school at Santa Rosa Junior College and received my Adobe InDesign Certification in May 2011. InDesign CS5 is the premier product for graphic design and book production out on the market today. This is an amazing tool that has speeded up my process for making books and sharing proofs with clients. My greatest joy is helping new authors find their voices, see their books published and enjoy their impact on the world.
But as they say, diversifying to stay fluid is the name of the game in these tough economic times. So Magnolia Studio has blossomed and now produces much more than just books. We hope to continue helping the earth, the community, and other artists for many decades to come!
Peace!
